ATHENS, Ga. – Honors for the month of November keeping rolling in for members of the University of Georgia equestrian team, as McKenzie Lantz and Maria Salazar were each named a NCEA Rider of the Month. Lantz picks up the honor after being named the Southeastern Conference November Rider of the Month.

“I am thrilled for Georgia to earn both MOP honors in the Horsemanship and Reining,” assistant coach Mary Meneely said. “We had several meets in the month of November and the entire team including both Salazar and Lantz really trained and rode well. Both riders are exceptional athletes whom excel in and out of the arena!”

Lantz, a Fremont, Mich., native went 4-0 with one MOP ride during the month of November, with three wins coming on the road. During the month, she defeated her opponents by an average of 4.5 points.

Lantz got things started with a 69.5-65 win over her opponent from South Carolina. She followed that performance with a nine-point, road win over her opponent from Auburn. Lantz earned MOP honors with her 72.5-72 win at South Dakota State and rounded out the month of November by posting her highest score of the month, a 73, against then-No. 9 New Mexico State.

Salazar, a native of Portland, Ore., went 3-0 in November, including two road wins, averaging a score of 70.2 and winning each of her rides by an average of 3.8 points.

She took MOP honors in two of her three meets, both over ranked opponents. Her first MOP honor of the month came at No. 3 Auburn, when she defeated her opponent 76-72.5. She followed that win with another MOP performance against No. 9 New Mexico State, when she picked up a 74-71 win. Her third win of the month came on Nov. 2, when she handed her opponent from No. 2 South Carolina a 74.5-69.5 loss.

Lantz and Salazar and the rest of the Georgia equestrian team will take the winter off before returning to action on Jan. 26 when they travel to Fresno, Calif., to take on Fresno State.